Verse 7 says that there is more joy in heaven over the one sinner who repents than over the 99 righteous who needed no repentance. Then verse 10 says that there is joy before the angels of God over the one sinner who repents. Then you have the story of the prodigal son.
There is joy *before* the angels of God over one sinner who repents," (Luke 15:10) which means Somebody Else is also rejoicing. It's almost beyond our capacity to comprehend God's joy, because it isn’t a dumbstruck surprise like the angels' reaction. It's an omnipotent and glorious joy, and it must be the most amazing thing to witness, because I seriously doubt that the angels' joy exceeds His.
The attitude and response of the father to the prodigal son's return is too similar to Zeph 3 to ignore.
"The LORD your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing." (3:17)
Is this not exactly what the father does? He rejoices over the son, quiets him with his love (doesn't let him finish his rehearsed apology), and exults over him. Then he gathers the house together with his outcast son for a feast to take away his reproach (3:18-19), he changes his shame into praise (3:19) and restores his fortunes before his eyes (3:20).
Luke 15 is all one parable and is meant to be read together as one. The conclusion statements of the first two parts (15:7, 10) then are intended to be applied to the behavior of the father toward the prodigal son and we are to understand that God the Father's attitude toward us when we repent is the same to a superlative degree.
Zeph 3:10-13 speaks of the descendants of exiled Israel returning home, and verse 13 even alludes to them being sheep: "they shall graze and lie down, and none shall make them afraid."
This is a wonderful composite of the character of God. The concept of trilogy resonates well. It occurs to me that this is also a three part view of the sinner. The sheep is lost, and knows it. It doesn't know how to return to the fold; it can't see, hear or smell the flock or the shepherd but it knows it is separated from the good life it once had. It can only bleat. The coin is stone cold dead; dry bones. It doesn't care if it is in someone's pocket or at the bottom of the sea. It can, and will, take no iniative. The prodigal is entirely different. He comes to his senses, recognizes his misery, and the possibility of a remedy. He returns home, albeit with lowered expectations. The father is helpless in initiating this return, his only role is to accept his son and elevate him beyond any reasonable hope.
I believe salvation is all of God, from front to back. Sometimes it looks like that to the sinner, and sometimes it doesn't. Jesus let's us see both sides of each curtain, as it were. We would do well to acknowledge that as well.
Verse 7 says that there is more joy in heaven over the one sinner who repents than over the 99 righteous who needed no repentance. Then verse 10 says that there is joy before the angels of God over the one sinner who repents. Then you have the story of the prodigal son.
There is joy *before* the angels of God over one sinner who repents," (Luke 15:10) which means Somebody Else is also rejoicing. It's almost beyond our capacity to comprehend God's joy, because it isn’t a dumbstruck surprise like the angels' reaction. It's an omnipotent and glorious joy, and it must be the most amazing thing to witness, because I seriously doubt that the angels' joy exceeds His.
The attitude and response of the father to the prodigal son's return is too similar to Zeph 3 to ignore.
"The LORD your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing." (3:17)
Is this not exactly what the father does? He rejoices over the son, quiets him with his love (doesn't let him finish his rehearsed apology), and exults over him. Then he gathers the house together with his outcast son for a feast to take away his reproach (3:18-19), he changes his shame into praise (3:19) and restores his fortunes before his eyes (3:20).
Luke 15 is all one parable and is meant to be read together as one. The conclusion statements of the first two parts (15:7, 10) then are intended to be applied to the behavior of the father toward the prodigal son and we are to understand that God the Father's attitude toward us when we repent is the same to a superlative degree.
Zeph 3:10-13 speaks of the descendants of exiled Israel returning home, and verse 13 even alludes to them being sheep: "they shall graze and lie down, and none shall make them afraid."
This is a wonderful composite of the character of God. The concept of trilogy resonates well. It occurs to me that this is also a three part view of the sinner. The sheep is lost, and knows it. It doesn't know how to return to the fold; it can't see, hear or smell the flock or the shepherd but it knows it is separated from the good life it once had. It can only bleat. The coin is stone cold dead; dry bones. It doesn't care if it is in someone's pocket or at the bottom of the sea. It can, and will, take no iniative. The prodigal is entirely different. He comes to his senses, recognizes his misery, and the possibility of a remedy. He returns home, albeit with lowered expectations. The father is helpless in initiating this return, his only role is to accept his son and elevate him beyond any reasonable hope.
I believe salvation is all of God, from front to back. Sometimes it looks like that to the sinner, and sometimes it doesn't. Jesus let's us see both sides of each curtain, as it were. We would do well to acknowledge that as well.
Blessings.